More than a decade after the term was coined by columnist Thomas Friedman in the New York Times, there is a Green New Deal proposal in Congress.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) have proposed a formal resolution that would frame climate change, economic sustainability and social justice together under a unifying theme, calling for a Depression-era national mobilization similar to FDR's New Deal, and serving as a litmus test for Democratic presidential candidates going forward.
History of the Green New Deal
A Green New Deal has long been an amorphous idea kicking around progressive circles. President Obama attempted to make it part of his platform in the form of a cap-and-trade bill that died in the Senate early in his presidency. His other climate policies were largely undone by President Trump.
It wasn't under Rep. Ocasio-Cortez made it a tentpole of her insurgent 2018 congressional campaign that it began to coalesce into an actual set of policies and a major piece of the Democratic agenda. AOC's platform called for “transitioning the United States to a carbon-free, 100-percent renewable energy system, and a fully modernized electrical grid by 2035.”
What Does it Do?
The Green New Deal attempts to tie that goal to broader issues of inequality, infrastructure modernization and access to healthcare. The plan calls for a 10-year national mobilization to aggressively curb greenhouse gas emissions, including neutralizing human-caused greenhouse emissions entirely by 2050 and a goal of increasing U.S. renewable energy production to near 100 percent within a decade.
The GND proposal goes on to tie the need for a massive national infrastructure overhaul to climate change and the effects of worsening natural disasters. It also proposes that every existing building in the country be retrofitted to more efficiently use energy and water.
What Comes Next?
As a non-binding resolution, the proposal would not change any laws even if it were to pass. Instead, it's meant as a stake in the ground around which Democrats can rally their base, and as a framework for candidates running for office to endorse. So far, every major Democrat running for president in 2020 has endorsed a Green New Deal in concept. Thursday's resolution would add specific policy goals for candidates to either endorse or refute.
The sweeping resolution goes beyond climate change proposals to include other pieces of a progressive platform, like a call for a federal jobs guarantee, universal basic income and universal healthcare. By framing those items as part and parcel of environmental policy, supporters hope to galvanize voters around a holistic "big idea," the way FDR garnered support for the New Deal during the Depression.
A Gallup poll finds that now 7.1% of American adults identify as LGBTQ, jumping from 3.5% in 2012. The increase is driven by Generation-Z – those born between 1997 and 2003 – of whom one out of five identify as LGBTQ. Cheddar News speaks with Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about the significant shift.
As the Biden administration continues to see the potential for an imminent invasion of Ukraine after contradictory reports of a Russian troop pullback or buildup, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, joined Cheddar News to give his insight into the tense situation. "When I was in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and we were talking with the Ukrainian leadership with President Zelensky, they said we ought to approach Vladimir Putin as though he was a poker player," he said. "So this could be one of those head fakes where he's saying one thing and doing another thing."
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter for Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest in marijuana legalization in the United States.
The Biden administration is launching a new task force to promote the use of 'cleaner' construction materials with lower life cycle emissions. This comes as the White House works to speed up government purchases of greener products. Sweta Chakraborty, climate change expert and U.S. president of "We Don't Have Time," joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Due to the staffing shortages of teachers in New Mexico, the state has been encouraging its National Guard members to fill in as licensed substitutes to keep schools open. Kurt Steinhaus, New Mexico secretary of education, joined Cheddar News to explain the state's stopgap measure amid its lack of teaching professionals. "The first thing they have to go through a fingerprint background check, just like any other substitute new Mexico. The second thing they have to do is go through some online training, and then we provided some in-person professional development about classroom management," Steinhaus explained about the qualifications process.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
